In His Footsteps: St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints. Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 461. Along with St. Nicholas and St. Valentine, the secular world shares our love of these saints.
A gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun, whereas a participle is a form of verb used as an adjective or as a verb in conjunction with an auxiliary verb. In English, the present participle has the same form as the gerund, and the difference is in how they are used. When used with an auxiliary verb (is walking), it serves as a verb and is the present participle. When used as an adjective (a walking contradiction) it is also a participle.
Not every word which ends-ing is a gerund. Present participles also end-ing. Present participles are also verbals (i.e., words formed from verbs), but they are not used as nouns. They are used as adjectives or when forming verbs in a progressive tense. gerund is not like a normal noun because a gerund can take a direct object (just like a verb can). The direct object of a gerund is known as a gerund complement.